Teams arrive at get their next clue at the Plaza de San Francisco in the following Order:6. Dustin & Kandice7. Joe & Bill8. Eric & Danielle9. Uchenna & Joyce10. David & Mary11. Kevin & Drew

Teams travel the 3 miles to PimĒs restaurant and pull a number in the following order:6. Dustin & Kandice7. Joe & Bill8. Uchenna & Joyce9. David & Mary who arrives at the restaurant at roughly 10:30pm10. Kevin & Drew11. Eric & Danielle

Teams leave Pimís Restaurant in the order they arrived in the following timed groups.

They must make their way to Cotopaxi National Park. Using a provided map, teams must drive these cars from this nearby garage 65 miles to Hacienda Yanahurco, in Cotopaxio National Park where they will find their next clue. Theyíre advise to enter through the north entrance.

Note: By local accounts ( Whirley) it takes 3 hours from Hacienda to the nearest town and another 2 hours to the first international airport (Quito).

Teams would be traveling south from Quito to Machachi, then turning southeast and eventually driving two hours on a very rough lava track to get to the Hacienda Yanahurco.

So the I canít see how Philís 65 miles can be accurate at all. Perhaps the road from the start of the Cotopaxi National Park to the Hacienda is 65 miles. Perhaps its 65 miles from Quito to Machachi.

Charla & Mirna and John Vito & Jill drive through the south entrance.Kevin & Drew suffer a blowout over the rough terrain, and simply drive the remaining 5 miles with the blown tire (insider Clips Kevin & Drewís Matt Chat)

DETOUR- Wrangle it or Recover it

In Wrangle It: Teams must help local cowboys to lasso, tie down, and groom one wild horse, whose hooves grow so long that they cannot walk properly (Damn call PETA). Team members must use traditional tools to clip itís hooves to a safe length and to trim itís mane and tail. When the horse is set free they will receive their next clue.

In Recover It: One team member must put on an historical military uniform, then the team must search the field for three items missing from the uniform; an epaulette, a sword, and a button. Once done, a general will hand them their next clue.

Rob & Amber choose Recover It. But after only locating the Sword they change Detours to Wrangle it.

After completely the detour teams must make their way on foot to Mirador Cotopaxi the Pit Stop for the first leg.

And Just so everyone knows (which probably everyone here does), the reason everyone is exhausted is that the Hacienda is at roughly 13,000 feet. Which just might be (not counting skydiving and parachuting) the highest elevation that teams have actually had to perform tasks.

Teams arrive at the Pit Stop in the Following Order1. Rob & Amber who win a trip to Whistler, Canada (where is my 10,000 each in cash Phil).

Rob & Amber, love em or hate em (we go from Puddin love to Rob hate), their is no question that this team performed very well throughout all stages of this leg. Starting with wisely following Oswald & Danny to the airport, making the wise choice to try the first airline.

A hint for future racers. If you have a major American airline or a airline from another country in the start of the race. The American company always gets in first. Just a hint.

They continue to be able to charm locals and the service industry, to get the best taxi service of all the teams vaulting them from 4th to 1st place in the opening night. By wisely getting a cab to lead them they manage to avoid some of the costly and time consuming errors of many of the other teams to get to the detour.

There detour choice at first is wise, since the show has a long history of teams having difficulty with animals. But wisely after making partial progress with the Random searching task switch to what was apparently a faster physical task.

They continue to work exceptionally well with each other. A very solid leg.

Oswald & Danny, a surprisingly strong leg from a team that wasn't always the fastest in getting from point A to point B. But with strong knowledge of the roads in Miami they manage to get to the airport first and get on the first flight. They did well getting out of the airport in first, though superior cab servicefor others put them down to 4th at Pimís. But this still kept them with the first departure group. They did well in getting to their vehicle, and wisely after getting lost, got a cab to direct them part of the way. For a leg that didnít play to this teams strength (working their charm with locals and keeping cool under stress) they surprised me by running a very competitive leg.

Teri & Ian, right out of the gate this team manages to impress more then they did in the first 8 episodes of season 3. The fought just a little (clips), they kept their cool and their sense of humor for most of the leg. And while they are physically slower then many of the younger teams, they managed to do quite well in the driving to the detour to keep a lead over all in the second time group and gained a spot over two teams (who were seriously in the wrong locations) of the first group. Solid, solid performance.

Eric & Danielle, well for someone who should be familiar with Miami Ericís route to the airport was the slowest of the two routes traveled, putting them on the 2cd flight. They were just average getting out of the airport and with the luck of the cab, fell to last place at Pimís. Which for those curious is Ericís first time being last at any of the route Markerís he has been to on now 14 episodes of the Amazing Race. He must of loved that......By the next morning though, this team gained more ground then any other team. Passing two teams getting to the garage and passing another three teams while driving to the roadblock. The team finished 4th. And that also ties Eric for his worst position in 14 episodes of the Amazing Race. But its Danielle best performance in 6 episodes of the Amazing Race. An for a racer that was often very disappointed about getting 2cd place, I thought he was fairly positive on the Matt with Danielle when getting fourth. A mixed bag of an episode. I canít fault them for the cab luck, but this team should have been able to make the first flight. But an excellent job in making up time in the 2cd day.

Joe & Bill, ran a good if uneventful leg. They maintained roughly the same position that they had for the whole leg (though they did manage to pass Dustin & Kandice. They were quick on their feet (for being I believe the oldest team racing this season), and they did well driving.

Dustin & Kandice, showed off some of their strength quick off of planes and into cabs (they do this very well), they lost a little ground while driving (getting passed by Uchenna & Joyce), but stayed close enough to pass them back while doing the detour. An average leg. No real errors an, but not anything special either. This team took a while to get started in season 10, lets see if they can do the same this season.

Uchenna & Joyce, my god Uchenna drives like my great grandmother (and sheís died). I saw people using walkers passing him while he was driving in Miami. Hopefully this isnít an indication of how he will drive throughout this race. Not much shown about this team, besides driving and that wasnít impressive.

Charla & Mirna, oh my. A serious mixed bag of a leg. Now walking and running, getting from point A to point B has always been a problem for this team. But they can hustle and they are stronger physically then they appear (well Charla is). I canít believe Mirna isnít comfortable with a stick shift.

Note for future racers: Learn to drive a stick and to do it well.

They kidnap a fern and use him as a guide. But, while I dislike the use of guides and cabs to navigate. At least with this episode where we get both we see 2 examples of how this can bite you on the ass. They are directed to the south Entrance of the National Park added a significant amount to their driving time. They go from 4th at the parking garage to 8th getting to the detour. They also close one spot in doing the detour, but somehow manage to gain that spot on the climb to the Pit Stop. But they ran a strong early leg.

David & Mary, did well in getting to the airport fairly quickly but they committed one of the dumbest errors and most basic errors on the race. By not checking their flight options they went from very likely being on the first flight to being on the 2cd flight. With being slow out of the airport this put them in the last group to leave. But on a positive note. They did show more energy and spirit then season 10, and seemed more able to stand on their own. On the way to the Pit Stop they might have made a terrible mistake. I think they might not have given it their all to stay ahead of Charla & Mirna getting to the Pit Stop, if so, that's a bad, bad mistake. Never, ever think you can let another team get ahead of you.

Kevin & Drew, oh god it hurts to watch them. I loved these guys, but here it is like watching a family member who was thriving and vibrant after suffering a stroke. A terrible performance, Drew is slow, I mean glacially slow. He has a small backpack supposedly just full of medication, he even tells Phil at the Matt he really shouldnít even be here. They manage to do not even one thing to impress me. They get lost going to the airport, last out of the airport, fall getting tot he clue box, allow another team to take their car. They then have a blowout and donít change the tire..... Do they not understand they will have this car for the next leg, that's four to 5 hours driving if they go back to Quito.

Sorry guys, you are a classic season one team and beloved by many, but you are lambs to the slaughter.

Fans have complained that Eric & Danielle (not Eric and his racing history but Danielleís and the fact that they werenít a real previous team)and to a lesser degree David & Mary have no business taking up spots on an All Star edition. But after one leg, it is clear that Kevin & Drew , the beloved Frats, are the team that had no business being on this race.

John Vito & Jill, damn, damn, damn. This team had the exact opposit leg that Eric & Danielle had. They started off great. Running a strong leg for the first night. Placing 2cd. Making all teh right choices. Follow the locals to get to the airport, get off at the first terminal, ask for flight info and confirm, get out of the airport fairly quickly, make up time witht he cab driver.

But in navigating the fell apart. With several cases of bad directions from serveral different locals. Just as locals can be great aide to racers. They can also do enough damage to get a team eliminated. They went from 2c d place at the start of the day to last, and 99% of that was due to navigating and taking the word of locals. They did work extremely well together and did a great job of keeping each otherís spirit up (more on Insider Clips). Just very, very disappointing.

Thanks so much for the report, mswood! I had to watch some of the show on YouTube because of idiot CBS, but even if I had seen it all on my TV, your insights on what happened were very enjoyable and helpful.

MSWOOD, let me add my congratulations on a great job. You have set a high standard for future episodes.

I want to comment on your discussion of Uchenna's driving: "my god Uchenna drives like my great grandmother (and sheís died). I saw people using walkers passing him while he was driving in Miami. Hopefully this isnít an indication of how he will drive throughout this race." Unfortunately for Uchenna/Joyce fans(me being one of the biggest), what I saw in episode 1 was entirely consistent with the way he drove in AR7, particularly in the crucial stretch from the diving off the bridge segment in Puerto Rico back to San Juan International Airport. He started with a decent lead over Rob and lost all of it and more. I believe Rob demolished some speed limits, but Uchenna drives very safely and at close the speed limit, which sets him apart from all other drivers in the Amazing Race. He has definitely read The Tortoise and the Hare and wants to roleplay the Tortoise.

Certain seasons feature a lot of driving and self navigation (season 1, season 3, season 4, season 9 are all examples of seasons where driving (and navigating ) were huge factors in how well a team performed.

I don't recall a vast amount of driving in season 7 (though of course there is always a lot, just in comparison to the heavier driving seasons).

But I didn't start breaking down episodes like this until season 9. So while I can remember Uchenna & Joyce getting past at times, I can't remember things like how much time was lost.

And with the terrible road conditions getting to the Hacienda, I can certainly understand some drivers choosing to be more cautious (after all we see every year teams breaking down and losing a lot of time waiting for replacement vehicles).

But watching him bleed time getting to the airport was just ridiculous.

With the producers stating that they made it harder to use locals and cabs to navigate for this season, I might be inclined to believe that either we are getting a lot of driving long distance (or to very isolated areas, like this episode) where being able to keep up with the pack will be vital in staying in the race.

Slow start for most teams but at least Rob and Amber are getting into the mood. I expected Joe and Bill to be in the top 5 but looks like not racing together for a few years since they finished 3rd in the first edition of the Amazing Race has taken its toll. Kevin and Drew had better step up their game. They were lucky not be eliminated in the first leg. A pity John Vito and Jill were booted out.